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RPA-Certified CPE Courses

Below is a list of CPE Programs that have recently been certified by the Register of Professional Archaeologists (RPA), including program descriptions and links to the programs' pages, where applicable.

Beyond Mapping Grade - using high precision GNSS tools for archaeological site and project mapping

September 19, 2017 | 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm EDT

New developments in high precision GPS (also known as Global Navigation Satellite System or GNSS) systems now provide the capability to perform rapid (a few seconds per measurement) and precise (better than 5 cm) archeological mapping over large areas. Lower precision GNSS “mapping systems” have been long used to locate sites within a survey but these newer approaches can be used to provide detailed mapping of feature and architectural elements, individual artifacts, and other object locations. The new GNSS systems—often referred to as “real time kinematic” or RTK—can replace, or augment, traditional electronic distance measurement mapping tools and are especially valuable in sites that cover large areas. This online seminar will compare the traditional mapping grade systems with the new RTK based ones; review the strengths/weaknesses and cost/benefits of the systems; and provide specific high-precision workflows relevant to archaeologist. This course is designed for archaeologists with previous experience in mapping grade GNSS who are interested in improving the speed and precision of their mapping work.

CRM in Latin America (in Spanish only)

September 28, 2017 | 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm EDT

This course will be presented in Spanish.

Cultural resources management (CRM) around the world emerged within a context of economic growth. Infrastructure development, its main instrument, poses great risk to the preservation of heritage resources. CRM is a thriving industry contributing strongly to a country’s economy, while preserving heritage resources in the context of complex public and state negotiations. Latin America is a key market for world investment opportunities. With businesses being invited to Latin America to invest and exploit natural and cultural resources, archaeologists are facing many preservation challenges. Thus, there is a need to adapt to existing laws and definitions of cultural heritage. It is necessary to accept that insufficient training has been provided to heritage professionals and archaeologists to meet the regulations imposed by financial institutions—for example, in developing land-use plans or social and heritage impact assessments. Environmental companies are mostly doing this work now, as CRM companies are rare in Latin America. Building CRM capacity in Latin America requires new professional credentials, close collaborative efforts with experienced companies, and above all, new business heritage models and regulated standards that recognize the CRM industry as an effective heritage preservation industry in Latin America. In this one-hour, online presentation, the instructor explores these avenues to building a fair business market for heritage preservation in Latin America.

Introduction to Flaked Stone Tool Technologies

October 2-6, 2017

This is an introductory course in flintknapping and lithic technological analysis and is an intensive immersion into the subject. The workshop focuses on learning how to apply flintknapping experimentation results to interpretation of the archaeological record. The training emphasizes hands-on production and analysis of flaked stone tools and debitage. Participants are taught several technologies (including core, biface, bipolar, and blade technologies), and learn to recognize and identify the distinctive manufacturing products and by-products of each.

Archaeological Curation and Collections Management: What You Need to Know But Never Learned in School

October 12, 2017 | 2:00 pm - 4:00 EDT

This two-hour online seminar is intended for students who have never taken a course in archaeological collections management. It will be specifically useful for those with no formal collections management training, who are nearing graduation and about to enter the professional world of archaeology; and students majoring in anthropology who are considering a career focused on managing and/or caring for archaeological collections.

The three main goals of the seminar are to:

a. Provide attendees with an overview of preventive conservation; collections management policies and procedures; and the tasks associated with managing archaeological collections.

b. Teach participants about their roles and responsibilities as they relate to archaeological collections, to ensure that curation is effectively considered at each stage of the archaeological process.

c. Offer solutions and resources that participants can refer to as they encounter different collections management scenarios.

Archaeological Application of Terrestrial Laser Scanning

New date! October 26, 2017 2:00-4:00pm ET

Terrestrial laser scanning is becoming cheaper, smaller, faster, and more common. Is it the right technology for your project? Terrestrial laser scanning has become reasonably commonplace in archaeology, yet many potential users (and even current users) are not comfortable in determining the best applications and most efficient workflows for this technology. This two-hour seminar will provide enough background information and practical tips to enable participants to better evaluate and apply laser scanning to their work. The seminar will provide a starting point for beginners and help experienced users feel more confident in their decisions.

Addressing Orphaned Collections:A Practical Approach

This two-hour online seminar is intended for students who are nearing graduation, entering the
professional world of archaeology, and are considering a job managing archaeological
collections; CRM firm employees including management who bid on, supervise, and provide
oversight of archaeological projects as well as those who are specifically charged with managing
collections after excavation; individuals who manage collections in museums, universities, and
other curatorial facilities; and government/agency personnel who are tasked with oversight of
collections in both Federal and non-Federal repositories.

Working With Metal Detectorists: Citizen Science at historic Montpelier and Engaging a New Constituency

The goals of this one hour, online seminar are to discuss the practical and conceptual benefits of working with the metal detecting community. The practical include the use of metal detectorists in efficiently locating sites, obtaining site information from folks that have metal detected in areas, and using the local metal detecting community to spread the word about site protection of a particular area or set of sites. The conceptual include engaging a constituency that is an easy and useful target for understanding the benefits of site preservation. After taking the online seminar, participants will: 1) Understand the benefits of metal detector survey using experienced detectorists; 2) know how to practically engage with metal detectorists; and 3) will know the pros and cons of such interactions.

Using R Statistical Computing Language for Archaeological Analysis

The goal of this 2- hour online seminar is to introduce archaeologists to the benefits of using the statistical coding language R in various levels of field work and analysis.R is a very powerful free, open-source, and extensible coding language that has gained tremendous popularity in many scientific and humanities fields.This seminar will focus on introducing the capabilities of R, a brief run through the language syntax and conventions, provide an over view of the available packages, and review a number of real world applications.This seminar is intended for at least three different audiences: 1) students looking to get some insight into new techniques to help their research; 2) professionals who are new to coding, but want to see what it has to offer their work; and 3) those with some coding experience who want to see the benefits of a new language or new examples in a language in which they are familiar.

Yes you CAN do that! Creative Mitigation and Section 106 Undertakings.

Tired of doing the same old "dig, document, destroy" and sending the artifacts from an archaeological data recovery to a curatorial prison where they will never to see the light of day again? Do you have a sneaking suspicion that doing yet another expensive HABS/HAER recording of yet another bridge or other historic structure might not be the best use of the public's money? Want to do more to showcase the importance and value of our nation's cultural resources? Want to ensure that the public who pays for federally-funded and mandated cultural resource work actually benefits from these investigations? Then, this on-line seminar is for you! The instructors will examine how the Section 106 process allows for great flexibility in designing measures to resolve adverse effects on significant archaeological and other historic properties. They will also provide examples of "creative mitigation" that result in a better historic preservation pay-off for our nation's heritage and the American public.

Geophysical Remote Sensing in Archaeology: An Overview and Practical Guide for Beginners and Intermediate Users, Teachers, and Consumers

This two-hour, online seminar will provide a basic understanding of how
to (1) collect, (2)process, and (3) interpret geophysical data from the
three main instruments used by archaeologists: magnetometers,
ground-penetrating radar, and electrical resistance meters. An emphasis
will be placed on doing this with an archaeologist’s eye to
understanding the archaeological record.

Advanced
Archaeological Digital Data Management

This two-hour SAA online seminar will explore the practical
aspects of good data management: how to organize materials during the life of a
project, tools and methods that they can integrate into their existing projects
and workflows to ensure data is prepared preservation and accessibility once a
project is complete. The course can be
taken as a follow up from the Introduction to Archaeological Digital Data
Management or can be taken as a standalone course. The intended seminar
audience includes archaeological project managers, PIs, curators and
researchers. Archaeologists working in
CRM, government agency, and academic portions of the profession will find the
information provided relevant and of use in their day-to-day and longer-term
professional activities. Any
archaeologist or related professional who works with digital archaeological
information will benefit from the course.

Archaeological Applications of Airborne Laser Scanning

Airborne Laser scanning (ALS, also known as lidar or LiDAR) is an active remote sensing technology used to create detailed and accurate 3D models of the earth’s surface and objects on it over extensive areas. This two-hour SAA online seminar aims to promote the use of ALS within archaeology by providing an overview of the technology, its potential applications in research and management, and examples of successful projects.

Forensic Archaeology to Maximize Evidence Recovery

This two-day class (14 credit hours) by The Center for Forensic Science Research & Education will introduce attendees to the array of techniques that archaeology has to offer to homicide investigation. Participants will take part in a field exercise that will simulate the recovery of human remains using archaeological techniques that will maximize evidence recovery at outdoor crime scenes.
Click here to learn more.

This one-hour online seminar--Funding Opportunities from the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research—will benefit archaeological doctoral students seeking funding for their dissertation research as well as senior archaeologists looking for relatively small amounts of funding ($20,000). The course will provide an introduction to the Wenner-Gren Foundation, its unique history and its role in funding international anthropology, including archaeology. The goals of the seminar are to 1) to share the unique history of the Wenner-Gren Foundation and its role in the development of international anthropology; 2) to introduce doctoral students and senior scholars to the variety of funding opportunities available through the Wenner-Gren Foundation, and 3) to explain how archaeologists can prepare a competitive grant application for the most popular Wenner –Gren research grant programs (the Dissertation Fieldwork Grant and the Post-Ph.D. Research Grant). Participants will come away with an understanding of the funding opportunities available from Wenner-Gren Foundation, and how to write a successful Wenner-Gren grant application (particularly important in view of the fact that the Foundation’s success rate is only 15%). Attendees will have the opportunity to ask specific questions about the Wenner-Gren Foundation and all aspects of the application, review and award process.

Course Outline

Introduction to the Wenner-Gren Foundation, including its origins in the early 1940s, its endowment, and its 75 year history of support for archaeology.

The mission of the Foundation and the necessity that applications to the Foundation are consistent with this mission.

Introduction to the available funding opportunities for archaeologists.

How to prepare a successful grant application, including:

General characteristics of successful and unsuccessful archaeological applications,

Detailed pointers on answering each of our five project description questions

Advice on preparing the budget

What to do if your application is rejected? — Answer: resubmit

Application and award logistics including details about the Wenner-Gren review process

Question and answer interaction

Expert Instructors

Leslie Aiello is the President of the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, the largest private foundation devoted to the support of international anthropological research. She has been in this position since 2005, during which time the Foundation has received over 13,000 applications and made 2126 awards. She is personally involved in the decision for each application as well as in all aspects of program design and implementation.

Her academic interests focus on the evolution of human adaptation as well as on the broader issues of evolutionary theory, life history and the evolution of the brain and cognition. She received her BA and MA in Anthropology from the University of California (Los Angeles) and her PhD in human evolution and anatomy from the University of London. She spent the majority of her 30-year academic career at University College London where she was Professor of Biological Anthropology, Head of the UCL Anthropology Department (1996-2002), and Head of the UCL Graduate School (2002 to 2005). She also served as the co-managing editor of the Journal of Human Evolution (1993-1999), has published books and a number of articles in academic journals and has been active with the media in the public dissemination of science and particularly human evolution. Her better known published works include Human Evolutionary Anatomy (with MC Dean, Academic Press, 1991); "The Expensive Tissue Hypothesis: the brain and the digestive system in human evolution” (with P. Wheeler, Current Anthropology 36:199-221) as well as a series of more recent papers on the evolution of language, cooperation, energetics and climate adaptation.

Among her honours are the 2006 Huxley Memorial Medal from the Royal Anthropological Institute, fellowships from University College London (2007), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2002) and the German Academy of Science Leopoldina (2012), and elected membership in the American Philosophical Society (2014). She is Professor Emerita at University College London.

This workshop is offered annually as a full-day training event at the Society for Historical Archaeology’s Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology. The workshop consists of a series of interactive lectures provided by the members of the ACUA Board of Directors. All participants receive an informational CD with presentation notes, supporting legislation and contacts, and referrals related to the workshop lectures.

Abstract

Cultural resource managers, land managers, and archaeologists are often tasked with managing, interpreting, and reviewing archaeological assessments for submerged cultural resources. This workshop is designed to introduce non-specialists to issues specific to underwater archaeology. Participants will learn about different types of underwater cultural heritage (UCH) sites, and the techniques used in Phase I and II equivalent surveys. This workshop is not intended to teach participants how to do underwater archaeology, but will introduce different investigative techniques, international Best Practices, and existing legislation. The purpose of this workshop is to assist non-specialists in recognizing the potential for UCH resources in their areas of impact, budgeting for UCH resource investigations, reviewing UCH resource assessments, developing interpretive strategies, and providing sufficient background information to assist in making informed decisions regarding UCH resources.

Education Focus

The Workshop was developed to provide information to terrestrial resource managers that have responsibilities for UCH, but lack the training to make knowledgeable decisions about resources in the underwater environment. Since 2010, the workshop has been offered annually in conjunction with the Society for Historical Archaeology’s Annual Conference on Historical and Underwater Archaeology. Participants in the previous offerings have included consultants, cultural resource managers, academics, and students.

The Learning Objectives are designed to provide a basic introduction of issues related to UCH to terrestrial archaeologists, including: recognizing the potential for UCH resources in affected areas; budgeting for underwater investigations; reviewing UCH resource assessments; developing interpretive strategies; and providing sufficient background information to assist in making informed decisions regarding UCH resources. These learning objectives directly support the RPA’s Code of Conduct by exposing terrestrial archaeologists to some of the complexities of underwater cultural heritage. The workshop also supports the RPA’s Standards of Research Performance by informing participants of the steps involved in completing Phase I and Phase II investigations of UCH sites and case studies of completed underwater work.

The Workshop includes a series of stand-alone modules on topics related to underwater cultural heritage. The modules covered in the full-day Workshop include: Introduction to Underwater Archaeology, Overview of Historic Preservation Legislation (as it relates to underwater cultural heritage), Introduction to Remote Sensing Survey, Overview of Qualifications and Reporting (e.g., who is qualified to work underwater), a regional module (this changes annually based on where the conference is held), an international module, a module on outreach and interpretation, and a hands-on component of technology used in underwater archaeology.

Success in mastering the objectives of this workshop is measured through interactive discussion throughout the day as well as workshop evaluations and feedback from workshop participants.

Advanced Metal Detecting for the Archaeologist (AMDA)

Advanced Metal Detecting for the Archaeologist (AMDA) will present its fifth class offering, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on April 24-26, 2015. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will be our local partner for this class. AMDA is certified under the Register of Professional Archaeologists’ continuing professional education program. The goal of the class is to provide professional archaeologists with an understanding of current best practices in metal detecting, and to provide the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with a variety of devices from a variety of manufacturers.

The course is offered with 16-credit and 24-credit options. Under the former, there are 8 hours of classroom work and 8 hours of field instruction/experience. Under the latter, the field portion is expanded to 16 hours and the classroom remains 8 hours. Fees will be $275 for 16 credits and $350 for 24 credits. At this class, the field sessions will be held at Fort Halifax Park, site of a French and Indian War fort on the Susquehanna River.

Advanced Metal Detecting for the Archaeologist is pleased to announce that Minelab will be providing up to five tuition scholarships for their next class. Please click here for more information.

Archaeological Investigations Northwest, Inc.'s (AINW) five-day program emphasizes hands-on production and analysis of flaked stone tools and debitage. Participants become familiar with several tool technologies (including core, biface, bipolar, and blade technologies), and learn to recognize and identify the distinctive manufacturing products and by-products of each. The program promotes the RPA goals of professional development through enhancing interpretive capabilities in recognizing behaviors associated with ancient technologies. These lithic technology analysis methods are commonly needed in archaeology due to the abundance of flaked stone lithic materials at prehistoric archaeological sites.

This one-week (five consecutive eight-hour days) program provides an intensive immersion in learning the mechanics of producing stone tools and learning to identify technologically diagnostic attributes based on comparing archaeological and experimental materials.

Whether you are an active or prospective registrant, the RPA wants to hear from you! If you have any questions or concerns about the association, or have suggestions on how to improve the RPA website, contact RPA Headquarters at info@rpanet.org.

Apply to the RPA

If you are interest in submitting an application for registration with the RPA, please visit the "How to Apply" page to get started.